Group 6 - The Modern Middle East - Conflicts in the Middle East
Chapter 19 Section 4
Terms
Kibbutz- A Collective Farm in Israel
Secular- Having to do with worldly non-religious things
Hejab- The wearing of the traditional muslim headscarves and loose fitting ankle length garments meant to conceal body
Suez Canal- canal that links Europe with Asia and East Africa
Gamal Abdel Nasser- Leader of Egypt in 1952 that took control of the Suez Canal
Anwar Sedat- Nasser’s successor that was the first leader to make peace with Israel and to seek United States aid and to also avoid the Soviets
Mohammad Mosaddeq- Prime minister of Iran in 1951 who nationalized the western-owned oil industry
Ruhollah Khomani- The Ayatollah, religious leader, who condemned western influences and accused the shaw of violating Islamic law
Theocracy- See Below
Diversity Brings Challenges
The Middle East is in the section refers to the region from Egypt in the west to Iran in the east and from Turkey in the north to the Arabian Peninsula. Many of the people in this region today are Muslims, but some Christian communities and the predominantly Jewish nation of Israel. And the countries there havelarge ethnic or religious minorities.
An ethic group called the Kurds lives in the northern Middle East are a minority in each country and have faced discrimination particularly in Iraq and Turkey. Boarders drawn by the Europeans divided their homeland among Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. After World War II, the Turkish go vernment harshly ruled the Kurdish minority in the east. An example of this is they made it illegal for the Kurds to speak their language in public. In the 1970's, Kurdish rebels began to fight Turkish forces. During the 1980's and 1990's, thousands of Kurds died in the fighting. In 1991 Turkey legalized the use of the Kurdish language, and in 1999 the amin Kurdish rebel force gave up the use of violence, though tensions continue. In Iraq the Kurds also faced brutal treatment. After Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War, Kurdsin northern Iraq rebelled and set up their own governmens with British and American military support.
Britain supported the Jewish national homeland in part of its mandate of Palestine. The horrific experience of th e Jew in the Holocaust added to worldwide support for a Jewish homeland. Jews migrated to Palestine in large numbers after World War II. In 1997 the UN drew up a plan to divide Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state. Jews accepted it but the Arabs wanted Palestine all to themselves. After Britain withdrew from Palestine in 1948, Jews proclamed the independent State of Israel, and within a year David Ben-Gurion became prime minister. Arabs launched the first of several wars against Israel but were defeated. Israel developed rapidly; a skilled and educated work force built businesses. Israel attracted Jews from Europe, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Africa as well as Jews expelled from other Middle Eastern lands. But conflicts of 1948 created enormous refugee problems.As a result of the war, 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled their homes in Israel. the UN set up camps in neighboing areas to house them. Large numbers of Jews from Arab lands were also driven from their homes, both sides feel embittered by the displacements.
Most of the Middle Eastern nations have had autocratic governments. In some countries, nationalist military leaders seized power.In other countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia,hereditary monarchs remained in power. Only Israel and turkey had stable multiparty democratic systems by 2005.
Checkpoint:
Why did many people around the world support a Jewish homeland in Palestine?
Most people supported Jewish homeland because they felt bad for what happened to them during World War II in the Holocaust.
Conflicts Over Resources and Religion
Many Middle Eastern countries sit atop the worlds largest oil and gas reserves. Because of this, many of these oil rich nations have prospered, where others have struggled. Meanwhile, the role of religion in a modern economy is debated.
Because the Middle East commands vital oil resources, it has strategic importance to the United States and other powers. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, are all nations with large oil reserves. These nations are all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), founded in 1960. In 1973, OPEC's Arab members blocked oil shipments to the United States to protest United States support for Israel. This oil embargo contributed to a worldwiderecession. Since the 1970s, OPEC has focused on regulating the price of oil rather than taking political stands.Some of these Middle Eastern nations began to adopt Western forms of secular, or nonreligious, government and law, keeping religion and government separate. Many of the nations leaders also adopted Western economic models in a search for progress. In these cities, people began to wear Western-style clothing, watch American T.V. programs, and bought foreign products. Yet life improved minutely for many people.
By the 1970s, some Muslim leaders were calling for a return to Sharia, or Islamic law. These Islamists, or conservative reformers, blame social and economic troubles on the following of Western models. Islamists argue that only a renewed commitment back to Islamic principles can solve the region's problems. Many Muslims supported this Islamist movement. Some have turned violent, although, many Muslims oppose the extremism of the Islamists.
Conditions for women vary greatly from country to country in the modern Middle East. Women in most countries have won equality before the law. Some women have even become lawyers or doctors. In Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, many urban women gave up the tradition of hejab, or wearing the traditional Muslim headscarves and loose-fitting, ankle-length garments meant to conceal.
However, the religiously conservative Saudi Arabia and Iran require women to wear the traditional hejab. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive. In many Islamic countries, girls are less likely to attend school than boys. This is because of a traditional belief that girls do not need an education for their expected role as wives and mothers. Muslim women have begun to challenge this beli ef.
Checkpoint:
Why are Islamists opposed to secular government in Islamic countries?
Islamists are opposed to secular government in Islamic countries because, as Islamists, they believe that renewed commitment to Islamic doctrine is the only way to solve the region's problems. Whereas a secular government would eradicate religious beliefs from government and law; keeping the two separate.
Building Nations in the Middle East
Egypt a Leader in the Arab World
Egypt wanted to become more self sufficient and to rid the area of foreign control. Nasser Arab, the leader of their country at the time, gained popularity by having high levels of nationalism and by also taking control of the Suez Canal, which links Egypt to Europe and to East Africa. He also led two wars against Isreal. Though the wars were unsuccessful, Egypt had joined sides with the Soviets when Israel had joined sides with the United States, giving the conflict Cold War significance. Nasser's successor Anwar Sadat seemed to take a different path than his former leader. Sadat decided to make peace with Israel, lessen Soviet interactions, and to seek United States aid. Though Sadat had made good decisions that helped their people and reduced poverty levels, he was assasinated by muslim fundamentalists. To seek revenge and to prevent further assasinations, Sadat's successor turned to anti-terrorism acts, harsh government crackdowns, and an increased support for Islamists.
Iran had western interest because of its vast ammounts of oil, but the Shaw was dealing with nationalists and could not keep resources with foreign interest. So when Mohammad Mosaddeq was elected as the prime minister in 1951, he focused on nationalizing the western-owned oil industry. In 1953, the United States joined with the Shaw to oust Mosaddeq and to return Iran's oil to western control. To keep tensions low, the Shaw also used oil to build industries, redistribute land, and to extend rights to women. The Shaw was criticized by the middle class, but had a secret police that sent critics into exile. in
the 1970's, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini accused the Shaw of violating Islamic laws. In 1979, protests sent the Shaw into exile leaving the Ayatollah to reform the government into a theocracy. Iran seemed to revoke women's rights and to seize the American embassy and to hold 52 hostages. They also had talk of forming nuclear weapons, which would make them a threat to the United States.
Saudi Arabia is credited by having some of the most vast amounts of oil in the Middle East, Contains Islam's holy land, and is run by a family called the Sa'ud, which claims their rule important because they follow the strict Wahhabi sect of the Sunni Islam. After WWII though, Saudi Arabia had troubles economically outside of the oil companies. They joined into OPEC in 1973, but ended up returning to the cooperative relationships with the western countries. The royal family ended up making ties with the fundamentalist religious leaders, but backfired because they were accused of breaking Islamic law by selling oil reserves to western countries. They eventually resorted to terrorist attacks, but the superpowers of the world did not want to revolt because of the threat to the fall of the worlds economies. Other countries had similar situations such as Kuwait, Bahrain Qatar, and the UAE.
OPEC
OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an organization founded in 1960. It is made up of nations with large oil r eserves including: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). OPEC seeks to unify the petroleum policies of those nations, protect the members' mutual interests,and stabilize international oil prices. OPEC's control of such a valuable resource has also made the organization an important international political actor at times.
Theocracies
Theocracies is a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. In 1979 when the shah was exiled, and Khomeini returned to Iran to become the new religious leader, and Khomeini's supporters proclaimed an Islamic republic, the new government was a theocracy. This replaced secular courts with religious courts and abolished women's rights. And they also brutalized opponents. The new government allowed Islamic people to seize the US embassy in 1979 and hold 52 hostages for more than a year.
Chapter 20 Section 3
Terms
Occupied territories- areas that Israel seized from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and occupied in 1967, mainly by Palestinian Arabs.
Yasir Arafat- Was head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that led the Palestinian struggle against Israel.
intifadas- Palestinian uprisings demanding an end to the Israeli occupation.
Yitzhak Rabin- Israeli Prime Minister at the time of the signing of the Oslo Accord.
Jerusalem- City that is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. It has been fought over by Israel and Palestine.
militias- Armed groups of citizen soldiers.
Saddam Hussein- Seized power of Iraq in 1979 ruled as dictator.
no-fly zones- areas where Iraqi aircrafts were forbidden to fly.
weapons of mass destruction- biological, nuclear, or chemical weapons.
Insurgents- rebels that used guerrilla attacks and suicide bombings.
Arabs and Israelis Fight Over Land
Modern Israel was established in 1948, by the UN. But Palestinian Arabs declared it illegitimate and rejected the state offered to them. Conflicting claims to the land led to more violence. After the first war between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1948, three more wars were fought between them in 1956, 1967, and 1973. In each war Israel defeated Arab forces and gained more land. Israel had to fight off guerrilla terrorist attacks while the United States repeatedly tried to bring about peace.
In 1967 Israeli forces took control of the Golan heights from Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Band from Jordan, and the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. In 1973 these nations attacked Israel on their holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur (a day of fasting). In this war Arabs failed to regain the regions they had lost to Israel. Israel's government later helped Jewish settlers build homes in settlements in these territories, causing more bitterness among the Palestinians.
In the 1960's the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was leading the Palestinian struggle against Israel. It had a large support among Palestinians who fled or had been forced off their lands during the variouswars. The PLO called for the destruction of Israel. For many years, the PLO launched attacks against Israelis at home and abroad. Airplane hijackings and the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games brought PLO demands to he attention of the rest of the world. Palestinians also opposed Israel in the occupied territories by mounting intifadas. The demanded an end to the Israeli occupation. Young Palestinians stoned Israeli troops. But Israel responded by having their troops seal of Palestinian towns, they destroyed the homes of suicide bombers and their families, and they targeted terrorist leaders, killing many Palestinians. The United States and the UN along with others pushed for peace and made some progress. Golda Meir, Israel's first female prime minister, was trying to arrange a negotiated peace when Arab nations attacked Israel in the 1973 war.Israel and Egypt signed a peace accord in 1979. Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. In 1994, Jordan's king made peace with Israel. But Israel and Syria failed to agree upon many issues. Another breakthrough occurred after Israel and the PLO began direct talks. In 1993 Yasir Arafat and SIraeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accord. It outlined a plan to give Palestinians in Gaza and the West Band limited self-rule under a Palestinian Authority. The PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, and the Palestinian Authority pledged to stop terrorism against Israel. Arafat assumed leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
But the years of talk brought few results and violence continued. In 2000, radical Palestinian groups such as Hamas stepped up terrorist attacks, vowing to destroy Israel. Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon demanded Arafat's removal as head of the Palestinian Authority for failing to prevent these attacks.
But there were still many obstacles to peace remain. One obstacle is land claims. Many Palestinians want a right to settle anywhere in Israel, under a "Right of Return". This policy would bring a large number of Palestinians into Israel, which could undermine the Jewish state and spark further violence. A second obstacle is the future of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Israeli settlers have been determined to remain. Palestinians have insisted that they must leave. Jerusalem is a third stumbling block. The city is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. Later, Israel declared that area part of Israel, while giving other religions control over their holy sites. But Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. The United States devised a new plan, called the "road map" to peace. It called for two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine, to exist side by side. In 2004, Israeli prime minister Sharon launched a plan to withdraw Israeli settlements from Gaza. But the plan angered some Israelis and did not satisfy Palestinians, who wanted Israeli settlements removed from the West Band as well. More progress followed the death in 2004 of Yasir A
rafat, whom the Israelis distrusted. His democratically elected successor, Mahmoud Abbas, pledged to stop Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel. Israel responded in 2005 by releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Checkpoint:
What obstacles have prevented peace between Israel and the Palestinians?
Land claims from both sides, the future of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, and Jerusalem.
Civil War Ravages Lebanon
Lebanon is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups. Until the mid 1900s, had been a thriving center of commerce. By the 1970s, however, the Arab-Israeli conflict was contributing to problems in neighboring Lebanon.
Lebanon's government depended on a delicate balance among Arab Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiit Muslims, and Druze,or people with a religion related to Islam. Christians held the most power, because they were largely the majority after Lebanon gained independence. After mostly Muslim Palestinians fled into Lebanon from areas that became Israel in 1948, Muslims outnumbered Christians in Lebanon. This tipped the religious balance, and Muslim Lebanese demanded a greater share of the power.
In 1975, the tipped religious balance shattered when Lebanon plunged into bloody civil war. Christian and Muslimmilitias, or armed groups of citizen soldiers, battled each other. In 1982, Israel invaded southern Lebanon to stop attacks from across the border, while Syria occupied eastern Lebanon to secure its borders.
In 1990, the civil war finally came to an end. Beirut, the ruined capital, was slowly rebuilt and again became a center of commerce. Despite economic growth, divisions remained among Lebanon's diverse population. Although Israel withdrew its forces in 2000, it remains alert to attacks across its northern border. Syrian troops remained until 2005, when popular protests led to their withdrawal. Lebanon's fate seemed tied to the prospects for peace among its neighbors.
Checkpoint:
How did an influx of Palestinians contribute to ethnic conflicts in Lebanon?
Iraq's Long History of Conflict
After Word War II the U.S. and the Soviets competed to have ties with Iraq because of Iraq's oil fields. At first Iraq's monarchy had close ties with the U.S. but in 1958 the monarchy was over thrown. The new government that had been made created a better relationship with the U.S.S.R. For centuries, Iraq was ruled by the Sunni Arab minority. They ruled the Kurdish minority and the Shiite Arab majority. In the 1970's the Kurds fought for power in their homeland of northern Iraq and were defeated.
In 1979, Saddam Hussein became dictator of Iraq. In 1980 there was an Islamic revolution in Iran and Hussein tried to take advantage of this and tried to seize a disputed border region. This caused a long war between the two countries. Iran and the U.S. were enemies so the U.S. supported Iraq. The war ended in 1988 and by the end both sides had taken heavy loses. Hussein had used chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians during the war and killed several thousands of Kurds.
Two years later, in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, for the oil fields and to have easier access to the Persian Gulf. This was illegal and it was a threat to the oil industry in the Middle East, so, the U.S formed a coalition of Western and Middle Eastern countries to support Kuwait. This started the Gulf War. The coalition launched a counterattack against Iraq in 1991. The UN nations quickly liberated Kuwait and destroyed the Iraqi forces. Hussein remained in power after the war. The Shiite Muslim majority and the Kurd minority both launched revolts and were brutally crushed. He used terror to impose his will throughout Iraq. TheU.S., France, and Britain, set up no-fly zones to protect the Kurds and Shiites. The UN also tried to keep Hussein from building weapons of mass destruction. They imposed sanctions on Iraqi oil and how Iraq could spend it's money. Iraq violated the no-fly zones and didn't cooperate with UN weapons inspectors that were looking for WMDs.
In 2002, the U.S. and Britain believed that Hussein still had WMDs. George W. Bush believed that Hussein was supporting terrorists, so the U.S. and Britain created a coalition and invaded. The coalition forces quickly toppled Hussein and occupied Iraq in the 2003 Iraq War. They then tried to rebuild the war-torn country. Many Iraqis were happy about the end of Saddam's rein but many hated the foreign occupation.
The rebuilding of Iraq was slowed by guerilla attacks and suicide bombings. Insurgents attacked foreigners and Iraqi citizens. In 2005, national elections were held and for the first time the Shiite majority won control of the government. The government faced attacks from insurgence groups and many Sunnis that were bitter about the loss of power. Iraq faced many difficulties with their new democratic government. The main problems were ethnic and religious barriers. Iraq needed a way for the Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and other minorities, to live together.
Group 6 - The Modern Middle East - Conflicts in the Middle East
Chapter 19 Section 4
Terms
Kibbutz- A Collective Farm in Israel
Secular- Having to do with worldly non-religious things
Hejab- The wearing of the traditional muslim headscarves and loose fitting ankle length garments meant to conceal body
Suez Canal- canal that links Europe with Asia and East Africa
Gamal Abdel Nasser- Leader of Egypt in 1952 that took control of the Suez Canal
Anwar Sedat- Nasser’s successor that was the first leader to make peace with Israel and to seek United States aid and to also avoid the Soviets
Mohammad Mosaddeq- Prime minister of Iran in 1951 who nationalized the western-owned oil industry
Ruhollah Khomani- The Ayatollah, religious leader, who condemned western influences and accused the shaw of violating Islamic law
Theocracy- See Below
Diversity Brings Challenges
The Middle East is in the section refers to the region from Egypt in the west to Iran in the east and from Turkey in the north to the Arabian Peninsula. Many of the people in this region today are Muslims, but some Christian communities and the predominantly Jewish nation of Israel. And the countries there have large ethnic or religious minorities.
An ethic group called the Kurds lives in the northern Middle East are a minority in each country and have faced discrimination particularly in Iraq and Turkey. Boarders drawn by the Europeans divided their homeland among Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. After World War II, the Turkish go
vernment harshly ruled the Kurdish minority in the east. An example of this is they made it illegal for the Kurds to speak their language in public. In the 1970's, Kurdish rebels began to fight Turkish forces. During the 1980's and 1990's, thousands of Kurds died in the fighting. In 1991 Turkey legalized the use of the Kurdish language, and in 1999 the amin Kurdish rebel force gave up the use of violence, though tensions continue. In Iraq the Kurds also faced brutal treatment. After Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War, Kurdsin northern Iraq rebelled and set up their own governmens with British and American military support.
Britain supported the Jewish national homeland in part of its mandate of Palestine. The horrific experience of th
e Jew in the Holocaust added to worldwide support for a Jewish homeland. Jews migrated to Palestine in large numbers after World War II. In 1997 the UN drew up a plan to divide Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state. Jews accepted it but the Arabs wanted Palestine all to themselves. After Britain withdrew from Palestine in 1948, Jews proclamed the independent State of Israel, and within a year David Ben-Gurion became prime minister. Arabs launched the first of several wars against Israel but were defeated. Israel developed rapidly; a skilled and educated work force built businesses. Israel attracted Jews from Europe, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Africa as well as Jews expelled from other Middle Eastern lands. But conflicts of 1948 created enormous refugee problems.As a result of the war, 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled their homes in Israel. the UN set up camps in neighboing areas to house them. Large numbers of Jews from Arab lands were also driven from their homes, both sides feel embittered by the displacements.
Most of the Middle Eastern nations have had autocratic governments. In some countries, nationalist military leaders seized power.In other countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia,hereditary monarchs remained in power. Only Israel and turkey had stable multiparty democratic systems by 2005.
Checkpoint:
Why did many people around the world support a Jewish homeland in Palestine?
Conflicts Over Resources and Religion
Many Middle Eastern countries sit atop the worlds largest oil and gas reserves. Because of this, many of these oil rich nations have prospered, where others have struggled. Meanwhile, the role of religion in a modern economy is debated.
Because the Middle East commands vital oil resources, it has strategic importance to the United States and other powers. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, are all nations with large oil reserves. These nations are all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), founded in 1960. In 1973, OPEC's Arab members blocked oil shipments to the United States to protest United States support for Israel. This oil embargo contributed to a worldwide
By the 1970s, some Muslim leaders were calling for a return to Sharia, or Islamic law. These Islamists, or conservative reformers, blame social and economic troubles on the following of Western models. Islamists argue that only a renewed commitment back to Islamic principles can solve the region's problems. Many Muslims supported this Islamist movement. Some have turned violent, although, many Muslims oppose the extremism of the Islamists.
Conditions for women vary greatly from country to country in the modern Middle East. Women in most countries have won equality before the law. Some women have even become lawyers or doctors. In Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, many urban women gave up the tradition of hejab, or wearing the traditional Muslim headscarves and loose-fitting, ankle-length garments meant to conceal.
However, the religiously conservative Saudi Arabia and Iran require women to wear the traditional hejab. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive. In many Islamic countries, girls are less likely to attend school than boys. This is because of a traditional belief that girls do not need an education for their expected role as wives and mothers. Muslim women have begun to challenge this beli
ef.
Checkpoint:
Why are Islamists opposed to secular government in Islamic countries?
Building Nations in the Middle East
Egypt a Leader in the Arab World
Egypt wanted to become more self sufficient and to rid the area of foreign control. Nasser Arab, the leader of their country at the time, gained popularity by having high levels of nationalism and by also taking control of the Suez Canal, which links Egypt to Europe and to East Africa. He also led two wars against Isreal. Though the wars were unsuccessful, Egypt had joined sides with the Soviets when Israel had joined sides with the United States, giving the conflict Cold War significance. Nasser's successor Anwar Sadat seemed to take a different path than his former leader. Sadat decided to make peace with Israel, lessen Soviet interactions, and to seek United States aid. Though Sadat had made good decisions that helped their people and reduced poverty levels, he was assasinated by muslim fundamentalists. To seek revenge and to prevent further assasinations, Sadat's successor turned to anti-terrorism acts, harsh government crackdowns, and an increased support for Islamists.
Iran had western interest because of its vast ammounts of oil, but the Shaw was dealing with nationalists and could not keep resources with foreign interest. So when Mohammad Mosaddeq was elected as the prime minister in 1951, he focused on nationalizing the western-owned oil industry. In 1953, the United States joined with the Shaw to oust Mosaddeq and to return Iran's oil to western control. To keep tensions low, the Shaw also used oil to build industries, redistribute land, and to extend rights to women. The Shaw was criticized by the middle class, but had a secret police that sent critics into exile. in
the 1970's, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini accused the Shaw of violating Islamic laws. In 1979, protests sent the Shaw into exile leaving the Ayatollah to reform the government into a theocracy. Iran seemed to revoke women's rights and to seize the American embassy and to hold 52 hostages. They also had talk of forming nuclear weapons, which would make them a threat to the United States.Saudi Arabia is credited by having some of the most vast amounts of oil in the Middle East, Contains Islam's holy land, and is run by a family called the Sa'ud, which claims their rule important because they follow the strict Wahhabi sect of the Sunni Islam. After WWII though, Saudi Arabia had troubles economically outside of the oil companies. They joined into OPEC in 1973, but ended up returning to the cooperative relationships with the western countries. The royal family ended up making ties with the fundamentalist religious leaders, but backfired because they were accused of breaking Islamic law by selling oil reserves to western countries. They eventually resorted to terrorist attacks, but the superpowers of the world did not want to revolt because of the threat to the fall of the worlds economies. Other countries had similar situations such as Kuwait, Bahrain Qatar, and the UAE.
OPEC
OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an organization founded in 1960. It is made up of nations with large oil reserves including: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). OPEC seeks to unify the petroleum policies of those nations, protect the members' mutual interests,and stabilize international oil prices. OPEC's control of such a valuable resource has also made the organization an important international political actor at times.
Theocracies
Theocracies is a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. In 1979 when the shah was exiled, and Khomeini returned to Iran to become the new religious leader, and Khomeini's supporters proclaimed an Islamic republic, the new government was a theocracy. This replaced secular courts with religious courts and abolished women's rights. And they also brutalized opponents. The new government allowed Islamic people to seize the US embassy in 1979 and hold 52 hostages for more than a year.Chapter 20 Section 3
Terms
Occupied territories- areas that Israel seized from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and occupied in 1967, mainly by Palestinian Arabs.
Yasir Arafat- Was head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that led the Palestinian struggle against Israel.
intifadas- Palestinian uprisings demanding an end to the Israeli occupation.
Yitzhak Rabin- Israeli Prime Minister at the time of the signing of the Oslo Accord.
Jerusalem- City that is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. It has been fought over by Israel and Palestine.
militias- Armed groups of citizen soldiers.
Saddam Hussein- Seized power of Iraq in 1979 ruled as dictator.
no-fly zones- areas where Iraqi aircrafts were forbidden to fly.
weapons of mass destruction- biological, nuclear, or chemical weapons.
Insurgents- rebels that used guerrilla attacks and suicide bombings.
Arabs and Israelis Fight Over Land
Modern Israel was established in 1948, by the UN. But Palestinian Arabs declared it illegitimate and rejected the state offered to them. Conflicting claims to the land led to more violence. After the first war between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1948, three more wars were fought between them in 1956, 1967, and 1973. In each war Israel defeated Arab forces and gained more land. Israel had to fight off guerrilla terrorist attacks while the United States repeatedly tried to bring about peace.
In 1967 Israeli forces took control of the Golan heights from Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Band from Jordan, and the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. In 1973 these nations attacked Israel on their holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur (a day of fasting). In this war Arabs failed to regain the regions they had lost to Israel. Israel's government later helped Jewish settlers build homes in settlements in these territories, causing more bitterness among the Palestinians.
In the 1960's the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was leading the Palestinian struggle against Israel. It had a large support among Palestinians who fled or had been forced off their lands during the various wars. The PLO called for the destruction of Israel. For many years, the PLO launched attacks against Israelis at home and abroad. Airplane hijackings and the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games brought PLO demands to he attention of the rest of the world. Palestinians also opposed Israel in the occupied territories by mounting intifadas. The demanded an end to the Israeli occupation. Young Palestinians stoned Israeli troops. But Israel responded by having their troops seal of Palestinian towns, they destroyed the homes of suicide bombers and their families, and they targeted terrorist leaders, killing many Palestinians.
The United States and the UN along with others pushed for peace and made some progress. Golda Meir, Israel's first female prime minister, was trying to arrange a negotiated peace when Arab nations attacked Israel in the 1973 war.Israel and Egypt signed a peace accord in 1979. Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. In 1994, Jordan's king made peace with Israel. But Israel and Syria failed to agree upon many issues. Another breakthrough occurred after Israel and the PLO began direct talks. In 1993 Yasir Arafat and SIraeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accord. It outlined a plan to give Palestinians in Gaza and the West Band limited self-rule under a Palestinian Authority. The PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, and the Palestinian Authority pledged to stop terrorism against Israel. Arafat assumed leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
But the years of talk brought few results and violence continued. In 2000, radical Palestinian groups such as Hamas stepped up terrorist attacks, vowing to destroy Israel. Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon demanded Arafat's removal as head of the Palestinian Authority for failing to prevent these attacks.
But there were still many obstacles to peace remain. One obstacle is land claims. Many Palestinians want a right to settle anywhere in Israel, under a "Right of Return". This policy would bring a large number of Palestinians into Israel, which could undermine the Jewish state and spark further violence. A second obstacle is the future of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Israeli settlers have been determined to remain. Palestinians have insisted that they must leave. Jerusalem is a third stumbling block. The city is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. Later, Israel declared that area part of Israel, while giving other religions control over their holy sites. But Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. The United States devised a new plan, called the "road map" to peace. It called for two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine, to exist side by side. In 2004, Israeli prime minister Sharon launched a plan to withdraw Israeli settlements from Gaza. But the plan angered some Israelis and did not satisfy Palestinians, who wanted Israeli settlements removed from the West Band as well. More progress followed the death in 2004 of Yasir A
rafat, whom the Israelis distrusted. His democratically elected successor, Mahmoud Abbas, pledged to stop Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel. Israel responded in 2005 by releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Checkpoint:
What obstacles have prevented peace between Israel and the Palestinians?
Civil War Ravages Lebanon
Lebanon is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups. Until the mid 1900s, had been a thriving center of commerce. By the 1970s, however, the Arab-Israeli conflict was contributing to problems in neighboring Lebanon.
Lebanon's government depended on a delicate balance among Arab Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiit Muslims, and Druze,
In 1975, the tipped religious balance shattered when Lebanon plunged into bloody civil war. Christian and Muslim militias, or armed groups of citizen soldiers, battled each other. In 1982, Israel invaded southern Lebanon to stop attacks from across the border, while Syria occupied eastern Lebanon to secure its borders.
In 1990, the civil war finally came to an end. Beirut, the ruined capital, was slowly rebuilt and again became a center of commerce. Despite economic growth, divisions remained among Lebanon's diverse population. Although Israel withdrew its forces in 2000, it remains alert to attacks across its northern border. Syrian troops remained until 2005, when popular protests led to their withdrawal. Lebanon's fate seemed tied to the prospects for peace among its neighbors.
Checkpoint:
How did an influx of Palestinians contribute to ethnic conflicts in Lebanon?
Iraq's Long History of Conflict
After Word War II the U.S. and the Soviets competed to have ties with Iraq because of Iraq's oil fields. At first Iraq's monarchy had close ties with the U.S. but in 1958 the monarchy was over thrown. The new government that had been made created a better relationship with the U.S.S.R. For centuries, Iraq was ruled by the Sunni Arab minority. They ruled the Kurdish minority and the Shiite Arab majority. In the 1970's the Kurds fought for power in their homeland of northern Iraq and were defeated.
In 1979, Saddam Hussein became dictator of Iraq. In 1980 there was an Islamic revolution in Iran and Hussein tried to take advantage of this and tried to seize a disputed border region. This caused a long war between the two countries. Iran and the U.S. were enemies so the U.S. supported Iraq. The war ended in 1988 and by the end both sides had taken heavy loses. Hussein had used chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians during the war and killed several thousands of Kurds.
Two years later, in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, for the oil fields and to have easier access to the Persian Gulf. This was illegal and it was a threat to the oil industry in the Middle East, so, the U.S formed a coalition of Western and Middle Eastern countries to support Kuwait. This started the Gulf War. The coalition launched a counterattack against Iraq in 1991. The UN nations quickly liberated Kuwait and destroyed the Iraqi forces. Hussein remained in power after the war. The Shiite Muslim majority and the Kurd minority both launched revolts and were brutally crushed. He used terror to impose his will throughout Iraq.
The U.S., France, and Britain, set up no-fly zones to protect the Kurds and Shiites. The UN also tried to keep Hussein from building weapons of mass destruction. They imposed sanctions on Iraqi oil and how Iraq could spend it's money. Iraq violated the no-fly zones and didn't cooperate with UN weapons inspectors that were looking for WMDs.
In 2002, the U.S. and Britain believed that Hussein still had WMDs. George W. Bush believed that Hussein was supporting terrorists, so the U.S. and Britain created a coalition and invaded. The coalition forces quickly toppled Hussein and occupied Iraq in the 2003 Iraq War. They then tried to rebuild the war-torn country. Many Iraqis were happy about the end of Saddam's rein but many hated the foreign occupation.
The rebuilding of Iraq was slowed by guerilla attacks and suicide bombings. Insurgents attacked foreigners and Iraqi citizens. In 2005, national elections were held and for the first time the Shiite majority won control of the government. The government faced attacks from insurgence groups and many Sunnis that were bitter about the loss of power. Iraq faced many difficulties with their new democratic government. The main problems were ethnic and religious barriers. Iraq needed a way for the Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and other minorities, to live together.
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